#eioanib

What I actually say: An update. Neat.

🌹 Where in the world does your OC feel most at home? Is there any reason why? If it’s not the place they were born, where were they born? Is there a certain somebody that makes them feel at home where ever they may be? What does home mean to them?

These days home is at the farm. There was a good period there where Saga felt like she didn’t have a home anywhere, but as she slowly builds the dream farm her grandfather had started, more and more she’s beginning to feel like it is somewhere that she belongs.

Saga was born in Zuzu City, and growing up she lived all across it in different suburbs, neighbourhoods, and districts. The farm was always an escape from all of that. When her grandfather passed away, she was stunned by the absence she felt in her heart, made worse by the ongoing guilt that as she got older, she never made the time to go and visit with him. 

There are some people that Saga feels she could maybe feel at home with, but never 100%. Her and Abby have grown so close, but Saga nearly ruined their friendship when she pushed the line between platonic love and selfish desire. Rasmodius feels like a safe house more than a home, someone who isn’t interested in who she was, only in what she is capable of. Although it is too soon to tell, Sebastian is pretty good at keeping her grounded, even if she loathes to admit it. He both challenges her faults, and keeps her from completely wallowing in her bullshit. Spending time with him has definitely put Saga through her paces :)

As of right now, Saga doesn’t know what a home means to her. There are all of these pieces built from fond memories, wishful longing, and debilitating anxiety about what a home could look like. She has a way to go, but she’ll get there eventually.

🌲 How deeply does your OC feel? Are they typically empathetic or do they have a hard time connecting with others in this way? What are they like when offering support and comfort to someone they care for?

I’d say Saga feels too deeply most of the time, and she’s built dismissive coping mechanisms as a way to protect herself from getting hurt. There is definitely a belief that she has to deal with things alone, because that’s what a lonely life in Zuzu City taught her. When it comes to her own emotions, we’ve seen her disregard them, feed them, or convince herself that she isn’t in the wrong. We’ve seen her argue with herself, self-edit herself, and manipulate the conversation to get away from herself.

Because of this, Saga believes she can read people fairly well. But how much of that is based on being empathetic, and how much is a cynical expectation for things to go wrong? Saga is only just coming out of living her life in survival mode, and it’s through the relationships she is forming in the Valley that she is learning that not everyone has an ulterior motive. This community is not singular, it is a collection. This problem comes up quite a bit for Saga, and conflict arises when she has falsely determined what someone is thinking and feeling based on this idea that everyone is after their own agenda.

When it comes to offering support, this is also something she is beginning to figure out, and sometimes she does more bad than good, like she has with Shane.

Most of the time, all Saga believes she can offer is to be someone to complain to, someone who will try to make you feel less alone when you feel like a shitty person, and offer small parts of herself through jokes and anecdotes from her life. She’ll offer to throw hands for you in the hope that you’ll think it’s funny and ridiculous, or sit quietly with you and tell you that you’re an amazing person and will get through this. And she will definitely go to bat for you in a fight, either through confrontation or manipulation.

>:3

🌿 What way does your OC show that they care without using words? What way do others show your OC that they’re cared about without using speech?

Gifts and acts of service.

Often what gets Saga into trouble is something she has said (or not said) or something she has done (or not done). Gifts are a cowardly cop-out for Saga. She leaves them where the recipient can find them, typically without a note (and if there is a note, it’s usually a one-worded apology). Sometimes they are pushed into someone’s hand, and every time she tries to avoid talking about the reason for the gift.

Acts of service is an active way she shows that she cares. It’s taking a look at how she can help someone out and pitching in. It’s knowing that Leah really likes wild horseradish because every Tuesday she has a salad, and picking her a fresh crop by mid-afternoon. It’s watching Evelyn reach for something on a high shelf at Pierre’s and getting it for her. It’s sitting with Emily and holding a bundle of fabric as she attempts to fold it back up neatly.

For Saga, the times she feels the most cared for are when someone sits with her and the expectation to perform beyond what she is feeling is dropped. When she’s given the opportunity to talk without edits. To say what is on her mind without the fear of judgement. But it’s hard for her, still, to get to that point.

💫What is your favourite fact about this character and why?

I love a lot of things about Saga, and most of all how very real she feels to me. She’s so deeply flawed and trying to better herself one stumbling step at a time. Even when things don’t work out, her frustrations and selfish tendencies still feel relatable. I can’t help but root for her because I know she can be better.

@milkyway-writes coming at me again, keeping me on my toes and productive lmao!

This week I managed to write past a roadblock I was having on EIOANIB. Which is great. V. jazzed.

She tries not to walk away. Tries not to think about the fact that she’s been standing outside of Sebastian’s bedroom door for a full minute and hasn’t knocked. She tries to ignore the gnawing voice in the back of her head that said Sebastian knew she was there and was laughing at her expense. Tries to think of an excuse not to go in.

“How did you do it?”

He says it quietly; half a wonder, half apprehensive. She could tell him the technical aspect of it; tell him about the inner workings of Joja Corp. and the arsenal of lawyers at their beck and call, but that’s not what he’s really asking. The emphasis is not on the ‘how’...it’s centered on the ‘why’. The decision to act it out.

Her eyes find the three adventurer’s on the box. “I’m an asshole.”

“Are you?”

Eyes meeting his, Sebastian’s head is tilted into his hand, and he’s giving her that unsettling and steady look of consideration he’s so fond of using on her. The kind of look that left Saga worried that some part of her was unkempt and exposed.

READ CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO NOW!

“You’re being sued?” Was it her imagination, or did he sound a little bit impressed?

But the air in her lungs kind of just...stops. Not held, not winded. Stagnant. Unmotivated.

Awkwardly, she shrugs. “It’s a whole thing. I have a lawyer looking into it.”

Sebastian mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, ‘of course’, as though being sued was something that happened to every average person.

Straightening, he shakes his head, loosening a few strands of hair from his ponytail, eyebrows coming into an intense furrow. “And why exactly did you call me? What can I possibly do with all of this information?”

I’m a fucking masochist and your ponytail is unfair, Saga thinks, flushed in the face.